Holiday apartment in Waalre – Nature, Trails and Cultural Heritage

Waalre is considered a link between Eindhoven and the larger natural areas in the surrounding region, combining outdoor recreation with the discovery of landscapes and cultural heritage. The municipality of Waalre takes you from river landscapes and heathlands to historic settlements, churches and former mill sites.

Landscape and nature

Waalre’s landscape includes forests, small fens and heathlands, as well as the Dommel and Tongelreep rivers. The nature reserves in Waalre are accessible from sunrise to sunset. The area around the Meeuwven has its own distinctive character: mixed woodland, heathlands and several other small fens alternate there. Gagel, a protected plant species, grows along many of the banks.

At the Meeuwven, an IVN hiking trail marked with blue signs starts at Café De Hut van Mie Pils. The Vlindertuin Waalre also connects various types of landscape. It features sections of heathland, grassland and woodland, as well as an insect-friendly ornamental garden. A pond attracts various species of dragonflies and amphibians. The garden can be visited free of charge from sunrise to sunset. Between 1 April and 1 October, around 20 information boards provide information about the lives of butterflies.

In the Dommeldal De Hogt area, QR information boards are installed at seven locations. They allow visitors to learn about the area’s nature, history and special features. The QR information can be read aloud and is available in several languages. Horse riders, cyclists and mountain bikers must remain on the designated paths in Waalre’s nature reserves.

Trails and experiences

Numerous hiking, cycling and horse-riding trails run through and along the municipality of Waalre, allowing visitors to explore Waalre’s landscape independently. Waalre also has interconnected mountain bike routes that extend beyond the municipal boundaries to Limburg and Belgium.

The 6.2-kilometre Loondermolenpad runs through the Dommel Valley, along the Volmolen and the Dommel. It is marked with blue arrows and follows the site of the former Loondermolen near Loonderhoeve. In the Oude-Spoorbaun-Trassé area, the IVN Valkenswaard/Waalre department has established marked hiking trails.

For equestrian sports, the municipal forests of Waalre have local horse-riding routes with renewed markings and repaired paths. A regional horse-riding and carriage route also runs through Waalre and can easily be followed using waymarked junctions.

The Waalre Walks are GPS-guided audio tours that bring Waalre’s stories to life on location. At some points, they use augmented reality to depict the former Aalst-Waalre railway station site from the early 19th century and French soldiers from 1800.

A recreational cycling path has been created in Waalre to make the area more accessible for leisure purposes. In addition, two new bicycle bridges have been built: one between Waalre and Eindhoven and one between Waalre and Veldhoven.

Culture and history

At Markt 22, 5581 GK Waalre, stands the H. Willibrordus Church. It was built in 1925 in the Neo-Romanesque style and designed by the architect L.J.P. Kooken. From a cultural and historical perspective, it is a distinctive expression of the development of Catholicism in the southern Netherlands and an example of the typological development of the Catholic parish church during the interwar period.

The hamlet of Loon has been designated a protected village view since 1971. Loon is an agricultural settlement that already existed in the 6th century. Around the triangular square planted with oak trees stand predominantly long-gabled farmhouses built around 1870.

The Oude Willibrorduskerkje has existed since the 12th century. It was later extended with a Gothic addition featuring a tower in the typical Kempen Gothic style. After the Second World War, the Oude Willibrorduskerkje was designated a provincial memorial monument for those who fell from Brabant.

The Volmolen stood on the former municipal boundary between Waalre and Riethoven; the half located in Waalre historically served as a grain mill. A new twin watermill was built in its place in 1998, generating electricity for 20 households.

Other places: Zundert, Landerd, Oosterhout, Boekel, Heeze-Leende, Gemert-Bakel, Rucphen

To the broader travel overview: North Brabant.